1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a job management apparatus which manages a print job, a control method thereof, and a program.
2. Description of the Related Art
As one of features of a POD device, variable data print (to be abbreviated as VDP hereinafter) processing which allows different print processes for respective outputs is known. In the current commercial print market, VDP processing which gives a high added value to products has prevailed, and standardization of PPML (Personalized Print Markup Language), PDF/VT, and the like has progressed. Also, job management is done by operating, for respective records, a VDP job which has already entered into a print workflow. That is, the progress status and history are displayed and re-print and editing instructions are issued by designating a record number of the VDP job.
On the other hand, cooperation between the VDP processing and a job ticket is demanded to heighten an added value. For example, bookbinding of printed products including variable print data, that of different appearances, and the like are demanded. As a standardized technique that meets such demands, use of metadata in a JDF (Job Definition Format) is available. By referring to metadata embedded in PPML or PDF/VT data from the JDF, records in a VDP job and bookbinding appearances are linked. Conventionally, a related art that relates to a VDP job using the standardized format is available (see Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2003-316549).
Metadata of PPML data or the like roughly include two different types of metadata: information (a name, address, etc.) derived from a database as a generation source of a VDP job, and information (distinction between a cover and body text, etc.) to be controlled by a job ticket. The former information (display metadata) is useful as information to be referred to in correspondence with a record unit of a job upon operating the VDP job, as described above. On the other hand, the latter information (to be referred to as control metadata hereinafter) is useful to allow setting display/editing processes (paper selection, page range designation, etc.) of each record unit job.
For this reason, metadata included in content data and a job ticket have to be discriminated as display metadata and control metadata. However, it is not easy to automatically determine these metadata from a metadata group included in a VDP content such as PPML data. Metadata referred to from a job ticket may often also include display metadata. Hence, upon managing a job generated by a conventional VDP generation application, even when the standardized format such as the PPML is used, it is limited to display record unit information using metadata. For example, a job management unit of a print workflow can use metadata only in case of a job generated by a dedicated VDP application.